DENVER, CO--A Canadian Goose stands alongside a small opening of water on Smith Lake at Washington Park Saturday afternoon with an arrow lodged all the way through it's body. Denver firefighters and Wild B.I.R.D. Information and Rehabilitation group of Denver tried to rescue the goose but were unsuccessful. Wild B.I.R.D wants to capture the goose and get it x-rayed to determine if the arrow went through any vital internal organs. If it did, veterinarians would remove the arrow and Wild B.I.R.D. would then release it back into the geese population at the lake. Wild B.I.R.D. will be back out at the lake Sunday morning. Andy Cross, The Denver Post

DENVER, CO--Denver Firefighters from Station #21, toss bread crumbs to a Canadian goose that has an arrow lodged all the way through it's body on Smith Lake at Washington Park Saturday afternoon. The firefighters were attempting to capture the goose and get into the awaiting care of of people from the Wild B.I.R.D. Information and Rehabilitation group of Denver. The group wants to capture the goose and get it x-rayed to determine if the arrow went through any vital internal organs. If it did, veterinarians would remove the arrow and Wild B.I.R.D. would then release it back into the geese population at the lake. Wild B.I.R.D. will be back out at the lake Sunday morning. Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Bird-lover Linda Neely was making her rounds at Washington Park on Saturday, checking to see if any geese had gotten ensnared in fishing line, when she saw it.

A Canada Goose on the east side of the partially frozen Smith Lake had been pierced by an arrow that entered the right rear of its body and exited just below the bird’s black neck.

Despite the wound, the goose was alive and appeared “very saveable,” said Neely, liaison for the rehabilitation group Wild B.I.R.D.

She called more volunteers, who tried a two-pronged approach to capture the goose. While some fed other geese in the flock to keep them from instinctively picking on the wounded bird, Neely used food to try to lure it to her.

But the plan didn’t work, and the goose skittered out of reach. After waiting a couple hours, the volunteers tried again from the partially frozen west side of the lake — again without luck.

The Denver Fire Department also responded and tried to help capture the bird.

“But geese are smart,” said Neely. “As soon as they see something in your hand that’s unusual, they’re gone. The best thing is to gain their trust — if you can get them close enough to get food out of your hand, you can get them. It takes patience.”

The group tried all weekend, but this morning the injured bird was still free.

“It looks like, because of the angle of the arrow, that somebody probably shot it when it was up in the air,” Neely said. “So we’ll have to determine if the arrow missed major organs, or if the arrow itself is keeping it from bleeding out.”

If the goose can be caught, volunteers would take it to a vet for X-rays to determine the extent of the injury. If the arrow missed vital organs, she said, the bird would probably need antibiotics for several days and then be released.

Neely said she hopes the goose finds its way back to open water on the lake’s east side, where it would be relatively safe from predators.

Kevin Simpson has covered a wide variety of topics at The Denver Post while working as a sports writer, metro columnist and general assignment reporter with a focus on long-form pieces. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he arrived in Colorado in 1979 and spent five years covering sports at the Rocky Mountain News before joining The Post.

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